Korea Trip: Hanok Village

Alright, at long last we come to the last of the places that my friend and I visited on our trip to Korea. That place was Namsangol Hanok Village, an immersive recreation of a traditional Korean village from the Joseon Dynasty. Some of the houses are recreations of those owned by the emperor’s extended family, while some are recreations of the houses of peasants.

One thing that continually struck me about Korean architecture at the palaces, temples, and village buildings that we saw was the lack of ostentation. While there are at times evidence of opulence, like the mother-of-pearl furniture in the queen’s quarters at the Imperial Palace and the bright green roof of the emperor’s study, there is very little in the way of grand displays of wealth. The only exceptions I can think of are the crowns that the Shilla royalty would wear. Whether that means such artifacts simply didn’t survive, such things weren’t priorities to the Korean people in those times, the nation didn’t have much wealth, or I just didn’t happen to see them, I don’t know.

Anyway, on to Hanok! All of the buildings represented at the village are houses. Unlike the folk village that I visited in Fukuoka, you can’t go inside any areas of the houses, but fortunately everything is laid out pretty openly so it doesn’t detract too much from the experience. Hanok is basically the place to go if you’re an architecture nut (like I am), if you want to see details of the day-to-day lives of non-imperial Koreans back in the day, or just have a general interest in Korea’s history and culture before modernization.

There were a couple of areas with really pretty gardens, made doubly so since the plum blossoms were at the peak of their blooming cycle. At one of the gardens you can even see Seoul Tower on the mountain in the distance.

In a couple of places outside, you can also see dozens of huge clay pots standing near the gates. I’m pretty sure that these were largely used for making kimchi and other preserves.

I especially liked seeing the kitchens, which had all sorts of pots, pans, and cooking utensils piled up as though ready for use. You can see piles of chopped wood ready to heat the stone stoves, and in fact wood in the heating areas to show how the stoves worked.

There are lots of other interior spaces to look at where you can see details of the domestic lives of the inhabitants. There are what I like to call “traditional garages”, or sites where palanquins and carts were parked, as well as looms, decorative screens and wall-hangings, and all sorts of traditional Korean furniture.

On the day that we visited they were also having some sort of exhibition about Chinese medicine. There was a display of about thirty different ingredients, preserved in jars and labeled in both Korean and English. There were all sorts of roots, some enormous mushrooms, and a good-sized tortoise shell.

There were even some dried seahorses!

A young woman in traditional Korean garb was manning the display and she asked if we had any questions about the medicines. I asked her what the seahorses were used for, and she told me they were given to women in labor to help them push. Interesting. I asked her about some other things, too, which she helpfully explained. When I asked her about the tortoise shell she said, “Oh. That’s for decoration.” I had to laugh.

Afterwards she asked if we’d like to try some herbal tea. Never one to turn down anything that’s free, I readily agreed, only to find out that we first had to determine whether we have “hot” or “cold” temperaments. She gave us sheets of information with different behavioral traits to help us figure it out. I told her that I seemed to have half of the hot and half of the cold traits, to which she replied, “Well, let’s put it this way: do you like cinnamon or mint?”

Well, I still don’t know which temperament I am, but the tea was decent enough. It wasn’t hard on my stomach at all like some Chinese teas tend to be.

Near the entrance to the building recreations there are a few traditional Korea games set up that visitors can try. One of them was the arrow-throwing game, where you try to throw an arrow into a metal ring that has a circumference about the size of a standard cup. We were using fake arrows, but you just know that back in the day kids were probably throwing real arrows around in their yards, never thinking they might take someone’s eye out. Man, I grew up in the wimpiest generation.

Anyway, the only reason I bring this game up is that my friend and I played it and I beat him by actually getting the arrow into the cup. Yeah!

And that about does it for my experience of Hanok Village! There are a few other things to check out there, including a traditional Korean craft shop, a time capsule, and even performances of traditional Korean weddings. I had no idea they had wedding performances, or I might have hung around to see one. Anyway, overall, even just spending an hour or two there is a great way to learn about everyday life in the Joseon period, so I’d definitely recommend it.

I’ve been blogging about my Korea trip for about a month now, so I guess it’s about time I wrapped it up, but I’m not done quite yet! I’ve still got some SWAG to discuss, so look forward to a shallow and materialistic post about my capitalist exploits!

Korea Trip: The Bulguk-sa

After having a great experience in Busan, my friend and I headed to Gyeongju, the old capitol of Korea. It’s a bit of a cultural hub and has lots to see, but sadly we only got one day there before heading to Seoul.

The first thing we did in Gyeongju was head out to the Bulguk-sa, a Buddhist temple that’s about an hour from the train station by bus. Having lived in Japan for about a year and a half, I’m no longer quite so awed by the temples as I used to be (you could even say I’m experiencing ‘temple fatigue’), but the temples in Korea are a lot different than they are in Japan. Japanese temples have a fairly austere aesthetic for the most part, and are constructed mostly of dark brown wood. If the Bulguk-sa is any indication, Korean temples are aesthetically much more similar to structures I’ve seen in Taiwan. The entrance to the Bulguk-sa is marked by a large wooden gate decorated with vibrant (if somewhat faded by time) green, blue, and orange hues. It’s heavily ornamented with wooden layers of colored wood.

What was really amazing to me was seeing what was standing just inside the gate—four enormous, wooden statues that must have been at least fifteen feet tall greet visitors as they pass through. The statues are painted with the same coloring as the gate, and two stand on either side of its interior, facing each other and the visitors. Unfortunately I don’t know much about them or who or what they’re supposed to represent, but they’re breathtaking pieces of artistry. If you closely at their hands, you can see that one of them appears to be clasping a dragon in its right hand, while the statue beside it is holding a slender red pole and a pagoda.

Facing them are a statue holding a stringed instrument and another clasping a sword. As I said, I don’t know for sure, but I imagine the statues are meant to depict spiritual beings that guard the temple.

The Bulguk-sa itself is also pretty impressive. It’s preceded by a series of large stone steps, and the temple grounds are some of the biggest I’ve seen so far. There are multiple buildings connected by long wooden corridors and shaded wooden awnings. If you look carefully at the undersides of the roofs, you can see carvings of dragons and flowers, as well as images of people and plants painted on the smooth paneling. It’s stunning in its complexity.

The grounds surrounding the actual temple are also pretty amazing. There’s a large pond right near the entrance which is surrounded by trees whos slender, delicate-looking branches drape down toward the water. We managed to see the Bulguk-sa just before the cherry blossoms were starting to bloom, so I’m sure it’s even lovelier a little later in the year.

My friend and I spent about an hour or two at the temple and then headed back to the bus stops to make our way to Tumuli Park and the Gyeongju National Museum. Before we could catch our bus, though, we were accosted by a short middle-aged woman who came ambling up to us in the parking lot. She thrust a business card into my hands and immediately began herding us toward the string of restaurants and souvenir shops standing opposite the Bulguk-sa. The entire way she continued to exclaim in a loud, enthusiastic voice that she had an English menu at her restaurant.

I have to say, this lady was pretty awesome. Not only did she successfully shepherd my friend and I in for lunch, but as we were crossing the street she suddenly started directing traffic, waving some cars through and holding her hand up to stop others as we crossed and approached her restaurant. Once we were there she hovered around us and pointed out various items on the menu until we ordered some bulgogi. She then promptly served us not only the bulgogi but about nine side dishes, after which she explained that she needed to go out and wrangle some more customers, and asked us to pay. We did, and she left us to finish our meal. I gotta hand it to her, she was a pretty successful businesswoman (although I guess we could have robbed her blind, what with her leaving us in her empty restaurant and all). Within fifteen minutes she was back, this time with a Japanese couple who looked as bewildered as my friend and I had been.

So, I guess we were suckers for being dragged into that restaurant, but it’s got to be one of the funniest memories I have of Gyeongju. What’s more, the food was actually amazing. That might have been my favorite meal in Korea.

Going in, though, I have to admit that I had no idea what bulgogi is. For those of you who are as clueless as I was, it’s basically a kind of stew of chopped meat, vegetables, and noodles, all cooked in a big pot (in this case, a big pot on a portable gas stove). Each person has a small bowl in front of them, which they can fill at their leisure.

One thing I have to say I love about Korean cuisine is that it’s very vegetable-heavy and you always seem to get amazing side dishes. Compared to other places I ate at, we got a more side dishes at this restaurant, but you still typically get between three and five.

What we got here were dishes of tiny, whole fish, some kind of black beans, kimchi (of course), various mixed vegetables (one such dish was mixed with halved garlic cloves), sweetened lotus root, and pickled Chinese radish. There was also a plate of whole garlic cloves. Now, I love garlic more than the average North American, so I was game to eat a lot of the garlicky food, but my stomach felt like it was being pricked by needles by the time we left the restaurant. Clearly my stomach is not yet sufficiently steely to handle all that Korean cuisine has to offer.

Anyway, all in all, my trip to the Bulguk-sa was an amazing experience and I’d recommend it to anyone who happens to be in the Busan area. And once we were done there we did manage hit up the Gyeongju National Museum and Tumuli Park despite our unexpected little detour. But I’ll save that for another update!